Ezekiel 17:6

6 It sprouted and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The branches turned toward the eagle, but the roots were under the eagle. So the seed became a vine, and its branches grew, sending out leaves.

Ezekiel 17:6 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 17:6

And it grew
King Zedekiah reigned and prospered, and the kingdom flourished under him: and became a spreading vine of low stature;
not so flourishing as it had been heretofore, in former reigns; it did not rise up to a cedar, as it had been, but was like a vine, which, though flourishing, does not rise up high, but runs upon the ground, and is dependent on something else; so the king and kingdom of Judah, though in tolerable circumstances, yet were humble and dependent on the king of Babylon: whose branches turned towards him;
the eagle, Nebuchadnezzar, to whom the people of the Jews were tributary: and the roots thereof were under him;
they were rooted and settled in their own land, yet under the power, and at the dispose, of the Babylonish monarch: so it became a vine;
a flourishing kingdom in some measure, though attended with some degree of weakness and dependence as a vine: and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs;
increased in people and in riches; particularly the king had many children, so that there was a prospect of a succession, and of a more flourishing estate, and a continuance of it, ( Jeremiah 52:10 ) .

Ezekiel 17:6 In-Context

4 He pulled off the top branch and brought it to a land of traders, where he planted it in a city of traders.

5 "'The eagle took some seed from the land and planted it in a good field near plenty of water. He planted it to grow like a willow tree.

6 It sprouted and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The branches turned toward the eagle, but the roots were under the eagle. So the seed became a vine, and its branches grew, sending out leaves.

7 "'But there was another giant eagle with big wings and many feathers. The vine then bent its roots toward this eagle. It sent out its branches from the area where it was planted toward the eagle so he could water it.

8 It had been planted in a good field by plenty of water so it could grow branches and give fruit. It could have become a fine vine.'